


Plum

by Guenevere



Series: The Bloom of the Plum Flower [1]
Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: (Mainly) POV Shinki, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Kazekage Gaara (Naruto), POV Shinki, Pregnancy, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:34:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26339572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guenevere/pseuds/Guenevere
Summary: Inspired by a conversation about Boruto and pickled umeboshi.When Gaara's wife gets pregnant after years of failed attempts, Shinki has to face the uncertainties that this addition to his new-found family gives him. Luckily for him, he doesn't do so alone.
Relationships: Gaara & Shinki (Naruto), Gaara (Naruto)/Original Character(s), Gaara (Naruto)/Original Female Character(s), Gaara (Naruto)/Reader, Shinki (Naruto) & Original Character(s), Shinki (Naruto) & Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Bloom of the Plum Flower [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2119191
Comments: 8
Kudos: 90





	Plum

**Author's Note:**

> This is nothing new, I know. But I had had this idea on my mind for quite some time and it was the first time in literal years that I managed to write a complete piece and I had to give it a shot.

“Shinki, would you come here for a moment?”

The young boy promptly stood up at hearing his mother’s voice and ran out in the courtyard were Fujimi was sitting in her wooden chair, basking in the late afternoon half-light.

Since they found out about her pregnancy she didn’t move much from there, more at her husband’s request than because of the fatigue she actually felt. Sure, she still felt tired and a little sick at times, but Fujimi was an active woman and she didn’t like to sit still and do nothing.

But Gaara had been insisting that she did as little as possible and despite her protests that “I’m not an invalid, Gaara, I’m three months pregnant, I can still buy my groceries, thank you very much”, in the end she decided to appease him and spend the majority of her time resting.

They had tried to have a baby for years before Shinki had arrived and it had honestly been more than a little painful watching all their friends having children and building their own families while in the Kazekage’s house there was still an empty nursery.

Not counting all the pressure the council had been putting on them for an heir.

After Shinki, they had concentrated on making the child feel accepted and loved and his presence somehow filled the void that they had been feeling for years.

A few months after the new family had been formed and steadily fell into its own rhythm, Fujimi abruptly began feeling constantly sick and fatigued. The following medical check-up (performed while her anxious husband held her right hand and her son quietly clung to her left) revealed that Fujimi was eight weeks pregnant.

The next few days went by in a blur of teary kisses, happy embraces and a concerned Gaara demanding that she moved as little as possible.

They had been wanting a child of their own for a long time and he wouldn’t take any risk of his wife getting hurt, either by pushing herself doing menial chores or because of his opposers that sometimes still tried to hurt him through her.

Shinki shared his father’s feelings and he devoted his free time helping his mother and ensuring that she was safe and sound, as much as a seven-year-old could.

But at the same time the news of Fujimi’s pregnancy instilled a doubt in his mind, a quiet fear that he himself couldn’t fully understand but that spread an unpleasant discomfort in him every time he thought about the child growing in Fujimi’s still flat belly.

Spotting him arriving in the sunny courtyard, Fujimi beckoned Shinki by holding out her hand and he quietly approached her, grasping the hand that was offered to him and experiencing the familiar, giddy warmth he felt every time she gently squeezed his hand with her own.

“Did you need anything, mother?”

The appellative still sounded a little foreign on Shinki’s tongue, but the sweet smile she gave him every time he called her that was worth any awkwardness he still felt.

“Not really, I just wanted a little company.”

Shinki nodded and sat on the chair by her side, the one usually reserved for when Gaara had some spare time to sit with his wife.

He kept his grasp on her hand and started running his fingers on the geometric motifs carved on her bracelets, a gesture that he had found out to be quite relaxing. After a few minutes, Fujimi broke the comfortable silence they were in.

“Shinki, is there something you would like to talk about?”

The child’s fingers stopped on their journey along the spiral gold and he flinched a little.

Noticing his discomfort, Fujimi prompted him: “Something that’s been bothering you, maybe?”

He didn’t dare to raise his eyes and just shook his head hoping that she would drop the topic.

Instead she raised her free arm to grasp his hand in both of hers and tried to reassure him.

“Shinki. You know that you can tell both me and your father everything, right? That we won’t judge you and that we just want you to be happy?”

Shinki nodded and risked a glance at her face, slightly relaxing when he found her smiling at him.

The sun lighting up her long, mousy hair surrounded her in a comforting glow and her violet eyes were looking encouragingly down at him, but he still couldn’t work up the courage to tell her the thoughts that he was trying to hide even from himself in an attempt to suppress the distress he so obviously felt.

But Fujimi, ever perceptive and accustomed to interpreting her quiet husband’s feelings, had already figured out what was bothering her adoptive son and, when she understood that he wouldn’t tell her anything if not directly asked, she decided to openly approach the issue.

“Does the fact that I’m expecting a child worry you?”

His flinch was more evident and, even though he persisted negating it by shaking his head, Fujimi knew she had guessed right.

She took his face in her hands and raised it so that she could look into his eyes.

“Shinki. You are our son. We are happy that you are with us. And we love you immensely.”

She spoke slowly, to make sure that he could internalise everything she told him.

Even though both her and Gaara made sure to show Shinki that he was loved, it was obvious that the child was still insecure.

But Fujimi was patient and willing to reassure him as many times as it would take.

“Whatever happens this won’t change. We will _never_ stop loving you.”

Shinki’s dark green eyes had teared up and he kept staring at her trying to hide the slight trembling of his bottom lip.

“We won’t love you less because we are going to have a child. It doesn’t matter if I didn’t give birth to you. You are our son and we will love you just as much as we will love your sibling, because you are our son just as much as this child.”

Shinki was grateful when she let go of his face and opened her arms to invite him to embrace her, because he was able to conceal his quiet sobs into her soft bosom.

He felt her arms raise to hold him gently and her lips kissing his head and murmuring more reassuring words.

When he had calmed down sufficiently, he separated from her embrace and looked at her, finding her smiling down at him. Always smiling at him.

“Can I touch your belly?” he blurted out before he could stop himself and he felt shamefully embarrassed when she chuckled at his request.

“You can, but I doubt you will feel anything. The baby is still too small.”

Nonetheless she took his hand and placed it on her stomach, smiling encouragingly at him.

As expected he could just feel her steady breathing, but knowing that under his hand there was a growing living being made him excited all the same.

“How small is it?”

Fujimi took a second to ponder.

“Well, given what the doctor told me during the last visit, it shouldn’t be bigger than… than a plum.”

Shinki couldn’t hide a little grin at this image.

“I like plums.”

And somehow he liked imagining the baby, this baby that mother had called his _sibling_ , his future brother or sister (just thinking about it made him feel funny down in the belly), as a little, burgundy plum, not so different from the pickled umeboshi he sometimes liked to sneak from the jar in the kitchen when he thought that mother wasn’t looking.

Key word: _thought_.

Fujimi chuckled.

“Me too. Maybe they will also like them.” she said, motioning to her abdomen to indicate that she was talking about the baby.

Then she stood up, stretching her aching arms and back.

“You know what? All this talking about plums made me want to eat some. Why don’t we go to the market and see if we can find them?”

Shinki felt himself panicking a little remembering how firmly father had asked her to move as little as possible.

“But… father said…”

“Your father can’t expect me to stay segregated in this house all the time if he wants me to stay sane. I accepted to move as little as possible but I’m free to take a walk from time to time if I feel like it.”

Shinki didn’t dare to respond to her tone of finality and witnessed helplessly her fetching her shopping basket and wearing her veil and golden circlet.

When she was done covering her head and shoulders to shield them from the fiery sun of Suna and the tiara was placed over the veil, Fujimi grabbed the basket and held out her free hand for Shinki to hold, adding: “Besides, I have nothing to fear if you are with me.”

The child felt a strong sense of pride swelling in his chest at her display of trust and he took her hand vowing to himself that he would make sure that nothing would happen to her.

While walking to the market, Shinki glimpsed up at Fujimi’s smiling face and at the thin, golden circlet perched on her head, and decided that today he felt bold enough to ask questions he had kept to himself until now.

“Mother, why do you always wear that when you go out?”

Fujimi self-consciously touched the tiara and her smile slightly curled in embarrassment.

“You see, when your father and I decided to marry, not everyone was happy about it. Someone tried to prevent us from getting married…”

“But why?”

Shinki had lived in Suna long enough to know that everyone seemed to adore both the Kazekage and his wife and he couldn’t fathom that someone could have tried to divide them.

Fujimi shrugged.

“Your father is the Kazekage and I was a no one. I wasn’t even a kunoichi, so of course I didn’t look like the best match for the most important person in the village. Gaara had to bear a lot of criticism from those who thought that he would have been better off with someone else.”

“But in the end, it all turned out well?”

Fujimi nodded.

“Yes, in the end we got married, but we knew that there were still those who didn’t approve of our marriage. But your father… well, he was already working hard to make things better here in Suna and our marriage was another way to show that he will always do what he thinks is best.”

Shinki couldn’t help but mirror mother’s proud grin at the thought of father’s determination.

“Anyway, at our marriage your father gave me this and made a big show of basically crowning me in front of everyone. And since then he wants me to wear it wherever I go. He wants to make sure that everyone knows that I am his wife and that he is proud of having me just as much as I am happy of having him. So that no one can say anything else on the matter.”

Fujimi chuckled embarrassedly.

“I don’t particularly like to show off, but I know what Gaara had to face to become what he is now, and if a little ostentation can help him, then I don’t really feel like complaining.”

By now they had reached the market and Shinki obediently followed while Fujimi shopped for dinner.

She winked at him when she put a little bag of plums in her basket.

By the time they had completed their shopping trip, the sun had begun to set and the humpy silhouettes of the village buildings were coated in golden light.

Shinki had insisted on carrying the basket and Fujimi had accepted this display of consideration with an amused smile.

The child had wanted to ask more questions about his future sibling, but he knew that his parents had agreed to keep Fujimi’s pregnancy a secret for everyone but their close relatives for as long as they could, knowing that Gaara’s opposers could take advantage of this new vulnerability.

But right now there seemed to be no one that could hear on their conversation, so Shinki dared to ask:

“Mother, do you already know if it will be a boy or a girl?”

Fujimi shook her head.

“Not yet, maybe we’ll find out when I get the next ultrasound.”

Shinki uttered a simple ‘oh’ and didn’t say anything else. Fujimi patted his head.

“Which would you like it to be? Would you prefer a brother or a sister?”

The child hummed as if in thought. After a minute or so he declared:

“I think that it doesn’t matter as long as I get along with them.”

The following silence had Shinki thinking that mother wasn’t satisfied with his answer, while Fujimi was simply stunned by his response: Shinki had already proven in different occasions that he could be more mature than an average seven-year-old, but it never failed to amaze her whenever he showed how conscientious he could be.

Fearing that he had made mother angry, the child frowned.

“Mother? Did I say something wrong?”

The smile was back on Fujimi’s face in an instant and she gently tousled his hair.

“No, honey, I think you are absolutely right. And I’m sure that you’ll be a great older brother.”

Shinki felt himself flushing and a surge of genuine, childlike pride had his lips curl slightly in a satisfied grin that he kept all the way home.

~΅~΅~΅~΅~

When Gaara came home that evening he was anything but thrilled at learning of Fujimi’s shopping trip.

Shinki instinctively shrank away and feared that father would reproach him for not managing to convince mother not to go.

Fujimi, on the other hand, was completely calm and explained to her apprehensive husband how she knew that it would be best to go out as little as possible, particularly if unattended, but also how he couldn’t expect her not to go out of her mind by staying segregated in their house for the next six months.

All of this while chopping potatoes for their dinner.

Shinki couldn’t help but admire how mother always managed to be completely relaxed when speaking with father, while Shinki himself had personally witnessed how intimidating father could be.

It was also true that father seemed to never get really upset with mother.

As further proof of this, when Fujimi finished explaining her reasons, Gaara sighed and uttered a yielding: “I guess you are right.”

Mother really seemed to have some kind of magic power.

She turned to Shinki and winked.

“Besides, Shinki was with me. I was perfectly safe.”

That managed to get a little smile out of Gaara, who approached a very flushed Shinki and patted him on the head.

“Sure you were.”

The child felt another rush of that intense pride at his parents’ appreciation.

When said that dinner was almost ready, Shinki left to go wash his hands.

Upon his return he found his parents holding each other, Gaara having embraced Fujimi from behind with his hands tenderly splayed on her belly.

After a few seconds Gaara whispered: “Please, let me put two shinobi watching over you. You won’t even notice they are there. I just want you to be safe.”

Fujimi sighed and turned to face him, taking his face in her hands.

“I don’t mind the protection. I know that it would be good for me and it would make you feel more at ease. But what will you tell the council? They will say that you use Suna shinobi for personal reasons…”

He shook his head.

“Let me deal with the council.”

She hid her face against his shoulder.

“They already put you under a lot of pressure because of me. Since long before we got married and for all these years…”

Shinki thought that her voice was trembling as if she was going to cry. Gaara held her and kissed her temple.

“I don’t care what they say as long as I have you. Right now what I care about is you and Shinki, anything else is not important.”

Fujimi lifted her head and flashed him a teary smile.

That’s when they spotted Shinki looking at them from the kitchen threshold and they hastily ended their emotional moment urging the child to sit down at the table.

Shinki thought that they had had a similar reaction to that of uncle Kankurō when father had surprised him talking at one of his puppets while he was polishing it.

What had mother said about him?

Oh yes, that he was _embarrassed_.

When they were all seated and ready to eat, Shinki spoke.

“Father?”

From his place at Fujimi’s side, Gaara lifted his gaze to look at him.

“Yes Shinki?”

The child took a deep breath and then declared: “I’m going to train a lot so I can help protect mother.”

His parents shared a stunned look before their faces opened in a spontaneous smile.

Gaara nodded at him.

“I’ll count on you, then.”

Fujimi giggled.

“Me too. Now let’s eat, I have to feed both myself and our little plum.”

Gaara looked at her perplexedly.

“Little plum?”

“It’s how we nicknamed Shinki’s future sibling. Isn’t that right, honey?”

Shinki nodded and he grinned timidly when mother again referred to the incoming child as his sibling.

Gaara pondered the peculiar nickname for a few seconds, but in the end he mirrored their smiles.

“Plum, eh? I like it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Umeboshi or umezuke are pickled plums very common in Japan and used as a side dish for rice. They are extremely sour and salty.  
> Fujimi's name (藤美) is written with the Japanese characters fuji (藤 “wisteria”) and mi (美 “beauty, beautiful”). I chose to name my character after wisteria because it’s a flower with many positive meanings (longevity, beginning of a new life, vitality, good luck, affection and devotion).  
> As hinted in the story, Fujimi was a simple civilian before her marriage to Gaara. I decided to not make her a kunoichi or someone involved in any way in Suna politics because I believe that Gaara’s partner should be someone able to allow him to leave all matters related to work outside the door. Based on what I read about the Kazekage’s council I figured that they would want to have a say in many of the Kazekage’s decisions, including his marriage. I also believe that Gaara would take some decisive standpoints to do what he thinks is best, even challenging the council if it comes to it.  
> Fujimi is part of a greater project that right now exists only in my mind. I don’t know if I will manage to write it completely but I may be willing to write more pieces of it in the future if inspiration strikes.  
> Thank you for reading my story, it’s my first posted fanfiction in like five years and my first fanfiction fully written in English. I would be glad to know what you think of it if you would like to spend a minute to write a couple words to me.


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